S&B on the L42A1

[Brian B]

Picked up what I belive to be an original mount for the L42A1 to mount the S&B. I know there are some more recent reproductions on the market. This one came out of a collection and is reported to have been purchased many years ago. Either way, I paid a bit over the new reproduction price. The machine marks on the mount are a little rough and it has an aged look about it. The parkerizing has turned that nice greenish color. Here are a couple of shots. The scope is so clear. I wished I had an L96A1 to put under this scope. I have the L96A1 mount for this scope as well. The scope is stamped with the AI serial number.

Information

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[Peter Laidler]

Mmmmmmmm Have you fired that rifle with that telescope in that position yet? You are going to get an eyeful of telescope! The ocular lens is too far to the rear - there is no eye relief!

[XL39E1]

Never had a problem with eye relief on mine Peter! Been shooting it for years with the S&B fitted!

[chosenman]

Hi Brian,

Nice rig. Your scope is one of the later produced scopes as its of the darker green and has the plastic ocular ring opposed to the original alloy with knurled grippy finish. I have a good mate who has just recently purchased an original bracket for a considerable sum, well over the repro price. The problem I think with those brackets is small batches of repro's have been trickling through over the last twenty years so even the early repro's are now starting to look old and original. No markings of any kind compound the problem of positively identifying what real and what's not.

[chosenman]

Brian,
I think its also worth noting your bracket is the Royal Marine design with thumb wheels as the Special Air Service brackets had allan key fittings.

[XL39E1]

Its not the Royal Marine type Chosenman! There a different shape behind the rear ring. The thumbwheels and Allen bolts are interchangeable so depending on what style you prefer, you fit! One dealer selling repro brackets offers both styles.

[chosenman]

Colin. I think you'll find it was the RM's who first had the light bulb moment and produced the bracket using the original 32 bracket from an L42 as the basis for design. The SAS came on to the idea later and revised the design and fitted allan key fixtures for whatever reason. Fact is, RM's plumbed for thumb wheels and chose not to deviate from the original bracket design to much and the Air Service played with the concept a little so as not to be seen as adopting a RM idea I would suspect. They like to be different.

---------- Post added at 11:22 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:13 AM ----------

Just thinking about it. A while ago I had the conversation with an ex Air Service guy I know who actually gave away two of these brackets!!!! I recall him saying the reason the Air Service went with the allan key fitting method instead of thumb wheels was linked to their parachuting techniques. The thumb wheels got in the way and weren't 100% reliable in staying tight.

[XL39E1]

Attachment 64963

Attachment 64964

Both styles of bracket, Top is "SAS" bottom is "Marine"
Slightly different shapes plus "SAS" type uses cap head craddle screws and the "Marine" type uses the old tappered craddle screws.
Using Allen bolts seems a bad idea! In an emergency, how you gonna get the scope off if you loose that 3/16ths allen key!

[chosenman]

I agree, but you cant change history, that's what they did.

[Peter Laidler]

I'm bound to ask just how far back can your eye be XL? It's got to be 2" or so from the ocular lens to get the full optical picture so based on the rifle above, that's putting your eye level with the rear of the bolt. That seems to be so unergonomic (is that a word?) on the head and neck while shooting as to be unreal.

The early alloy ocular focussing ring had a replaceable rubber insert that seemed to be made of a sort of plastercine! The later one on the tele shown on thread 1 was better.......but....... The housing it was on couldn't be fitted into the earlier telescopes!

I don't think the knurled thumbscrews v. allen bolts were an identifying feature per se. Just a matter of being ill informed if you were unwise enough to use allen bolts. That's because the mild steel thumb screws shafts were designed so that you only tighten to thumb/finger tightness otherwise they'd shear and not just strip the front thread. And if you give a crunchie the tools and wherewithall to overtighten something, then guess what he WILL do?

I was a paratrooper and for the life of me cannot see what allen bolt/1" diameter thumbwheel will do to affect parachuting techniques!

I can see where this is going but as a bloke from the bleedin' obvious school of life I feel that there might be a degree of urban myth creeping in here. AQnyone remember the horse manure surrounding the special black SAS and Marine lens caps......... Just a minute while I phone up Steve XXX one of the RM Armourers.............